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NBA should suspend player for season over domestic violence conviction, Van Gundy says

In this week’s Nothing But Net, Doug Smith debates merits of punishment over action away from game.

Raptor' point guard Kyle Lowry knocks the ball loose from Darren Collison as he drives to the hoop in 2014. Collison has been suspended eight games by the NBA after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star file photo)

The news that Darren Collison of the Sacramento Kings was suspended this week for the first eight games of the NBA season after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge probably didn’t get the notice it warranted given all the other sports things that are going on.

It should have and it certainly would have if the league would adopt the suggestion of TV analyst and former coach Jeff Van Gundy.

After sitting in on a conference on domestic violence, Van Gundy said he would prefer a far harsher penalty.

“I love everything that (commissioner) Adam Silver has done. My one suggestion going forward is, any felony committed against a woman should be a full-season suspension,” Van Gundy said during ESPN’s coverage of a pre-season game. “And on the second one, you’re gone.”

The league did hit Collison with a significant suspension and consulted with domestic violence experts before levying the penalty; and the NBA is justifiably proud with the discipline it metes out for actions away from the game.

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Jeff Taylor of the Charlotte Hornets was hit with a 24-game ban after he pled guilty to assault and malicious destruction of property charges in 2014. Other players have been suspended for such things as drunk driving charges as the league takes a dim view of off-the-court actions that bring the law into the picture.

Van Gundy’s suggestion has merit for a couple of obvious reasons.

While it might be true that people who find themselves in highly-charged physical situations may not be of the clearest of minds, knowing a full season of lost salary and public disgrace is the price might calm some situations. And if one incident is avoided, that’s a plus.

Threats of taking away livelihoods — and salary — resonate with athletes of every stripe, and the NBA could continue to be a strong advocate on a major societal issue.

Plus, there are cut-and-dried penalties for such things as violations of the anti-drug policies in the collective bargaining agreement, why not put something firm — and stern — in place for violence against women?

A bit of a blow: The Detroit Pistons are one of the more intriguing Eastern Conference teams, huge in the frontcourt and coming off a playoff season that gave them valuable experience.

But they will begin the season short-handed because guard Reggie Jackson is out six to eight weeks with knee pain.

The soreness won’t require surgery, which is good news, but Detroit is facing the task of playing maybe a quarter of the season with Ish Smith as its starting point guard. Smith was solid in stretches for the beyond-woeful Philadelphia 76ers last season but asking him to carry a heavy load for a playoff team is asking a lot.

Grinding from the bench: Zach Randolph was one of the poster boys for the grit-and-grind style of the Memphis Grizzlies for years and now he’s got a new role.

The 35-year-old Randolph, about to begin his 16th NBA season, is coming off the bench, new Memphis coach David Fizdale said this week.

“We’re going to go after sixth man of the year (award),” Fizdale said. “I want to highlight the hell out of him in that second unit. I need him to be a leader in that second unit, and he’s really embraced that.”

Randolph will join 39-year-old Vince Carter in one of the more geriatric second units in the league.

They started something: The Raptors’ decision to stand as a team locked arm in arm during the pre-game renditions of the Canadian and American national anthems seems to have caught on.

The New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards have all follow Toronto’s lead in the pre-season.

They certainly aren’t the most disruptive of protests but the moves are important to the players.

“There’s a lot of things we need to get better at as a country, individually and together as a whole because nothing’s perfect and everything is pretty corrupt now,” was how Washington’s Bradley Beal put it. “So protesting — I’m all for it until something is done about it.”

One in, one out: The Sixers took a serious blow when rookie Ben Simmons broke his foot — he is out indefinitely, perhaps for the season — but there has been some good pre-season news.

Joel Embiid, the third pick in the 2014 draft, is finally playing. He had six points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in a 12-minute debut against Boston on Tuesday.

It was the first action for the seven-foot-two forward, who had foot surgeries in June 2014 and August 2015.

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